The Princess & Her Alphaholes by Renee O’Roark
Chapter One
Delilah
age eighteen
When I walk into class on my first day at the Academy, I already know that today will be hell. I’m one of only a handful of humans attending, and I’ll be surrounded by wolves the entire day.
I’ve lived on pack lands as long as I can remember, and I’ve been hated for just as long. My mother used to be one of Alpha Michael’s playthings, now she is nothing more than a pack servant. She was once his Avowed, favored and treated somewhat well. Now, she’s nothing.
I’m no better. Alpha Michael declared that all humans living on pack lands would attend the Academy. If we were already an Avowed, we would be forced to serve our wolf master, and if we were unavowed, we would be forced to attend with the intention of finding a wolf to serve.
My scheduled classes are geared toward serving the pack, with only a couple of exceptions.
For me, those are Art and Cooking. There are a couple of other electives that others can choose from, but I liked these two the most.
I move to the back of the room, hoping I'll be able to keep my head down and out of sight; the less attention the wolves pay to me, the better. If any of them decides to make me their personal servant by claiming me as their Avowed, I'll be completely fucked.
As their Avowed servant, I would be expected to bend to their will, give in to their desires, and serve their every need. Yes, every single need.
I hate every second I have to spend in their despicable presence. Unfortunately for me, that’s twenty-four seven. My mother was summoned and claimed by the Alpha the same day we arrived on pack lands, and she served him as an Avowed for twelve years before he threw her aside. Now she cleans in the kitchen and spends her nights drinking at the pack bar. The woman who once cared for me is a shell. She has secrets, and a dark past she hides from me. I’m her only family, and I feel like I know nothing about her sometimes.
“I thought you might be here, trash!” A booming voice calls from the front of the room. As soon as I hear it, my insides freeze.
Fucking Coal. The next Alpha for Primal Moon Pack. The pack I serve. He’s been my tormentor since I was six. He blames it on the fact that my mother was one of his dad’s whores, but I think he just gets off on being an asshole.
Most wolves here are cruel, intolerant, and just generally nasty to humans, but Coal? He takes it to a whole other fucking level. He takes a sadistic pleasure in making my life complete fucking hell.
I learned a long time ago that feeding his darkness by cowering in the corner or rising to the fight, made things worse for me. If I cower, he thrives. If I fight, he grows angrier, and his wrath increases. Coal is one of the most cruel wolves I’ve ever known.
So I keep my head down and try not to make eye contact when he hollers at me from across the room.
He isn’t kind to anyone, but he seems to take a special pleasure in tormenting me. He turns everyone he can against me and spends a significant amount of time kicking me into the mud. Literally.
“I think I’ll ask for an Avowed servant this year,” he announces as he drops his things onto my desk. Instead of shoving a book up his ass, like I want to, I simply gather my things and move to the front.
I know rising to the fight will only result in more pain and punishment. Something inside me craves the pain, as well as the fight. I don’t want to submit to anyone. I want to show Coal that his harsh words mean nothing to me, but if I do, I might not be able to handle the consequences.
But before I can take three steps, he stops me with his cold words.
“No trash, you’ll sit here. I want you to take my notes for me.” The evil smile stretching across his lips does nothing to alter his handsome face.
One of the most frustrating things about him is the fact that he's insanely attractive. Tall, broad shoulders, defined muscles, sandy brown hair, sun-kissed tan skin, and piercing blue eyes. Looking at him is like looking at a Greek god. How someone who looks like him can be so vile is beyond me. His beauty doesn’t hide his dead black heart.
I know better than to argue, so I just sit beside him and pull out my notebook. Agitation burning in my veins, even as I comply.
When the Alpha announced the humans would be attending Primal Moon Academy, he failed to mention the exact circumstances. We aren’t training for a better future, we're being shown that we don’t have one.
A loud, angry growl from the front of the class sends my heart rate to the ceiling. My eyes snap up and catch the gaze of a man I have never met before. His eyes glow bright amber, his wolf just under his skin, wanting to break free. If he doesn't get his shit together soon, he’s going to shift in the middle of homeroom. I frown at the odd behavior. I don’t know what his problem is, but Coal notices too, and tenses.
But as quickly as he had stormed in, he rushes right back out. I shake my head at the odd wolf.
"Focus, on your soon to be master," Coal scolds, but I remain silent. He pulls my attention back to him by snapping his fingers in my face.
The other man had been striking, with his amber eyes and black hair. His dark brown skin looked soft and inviting. Which sounds so stupid, considering I'd only spent thirty seconds looking at him. His eyes were so familiar though, I’ve seen them before…I'm sure of it.
With Homeroom starting in just a few minutes I decide to pull out my schedule. Three of my seven classes are for serving the pack. Cleaning, Manners. A bunch of nothing, which all humans here have been doing since childhood. Another of those is Cooking, which I enjoy, and is technically an elective. Other classes are lunch and homeroom. Only the last two classes are useful, Combat, and my other chosen elective, Art.
As soon as the teacher walks in, I let out a sigh of relief. Coal won't be too much of a dick with Mr.Parsons in the room. At least not before he claims me as his Avowed.
You might be wondering why a person would be claimed as an avowed servant, and the simplest answer is, to keep humans in their place. To remind us that we are the very bottom of the food chain here.
Coal reaches under the desk, trailing his fingers across the exposed skin of my thigh. The stupid Academy has a uniform consisting of a short plaid skirt and white shirt. While the men get to wear pants.
A shiver runs down my spine, and I grip his wrist, stilling his movements. He squeezes my skin tightly in warning. He leans in closely, whispering in my ear.
"When I claim you as mine, I'll use you however I please, whenever I please. Even here, surrounded by the pack." While his words may have been whispered, I know the other wolves heard him when they snicker. Coal is always putting on a show. Making my life miserable is what makes him happiest I guess.
Fury spikes in my heart, but if I react, it will just give him an excuse to punish me.
Humans who end up serving the pack don't have much freedom, but the alternative is trying to escape and serving a more ruthless pack. Or worse.
Just to be clear, I mean death. Although some days I wonder if death really would be worse. There are also human compounds, but I know from my mama that those are not places you want to be. Weaker humans get sold, even among their own people, and used as pawns in a centuries old war.
I bite my tongue, trying to hold in my retort, and taste blood.
Coal has been tormenting me since I was a young child; this isn't anything I haven't heard before.
He knows I’m a virgin and tries to use it as a threat. Always saying he'll make sure my first time is brutal and bloody. He wants to ruin me for any other man. The first few times I believed him, now I think he wants to scare me, but I honestly don’t know.
His hand travels higher up my thigh, and his mouth moves to the shell of my ear. The caress of his hot breath against my skin causes heat to pool in my core, and I curse my body for betraying me. Coal is the enemy. Coal is the fucking devil.
"I can smell you, Flower." He runs his fingers up higher, almost reaching the apex between my thighs. "Are you wet for me?"
I shift in my seat, trying to move away from his heated touch. He might be able to spark desire within me, but I'll never bend to him willingly, no matter how my body reacts to him.
I push his hand away, using all the strength I have, but he barely budges.
"Stop..." I whisper, hoping he'll release me before anyone notices where his hand is.
Before I can protest further the man from earlier storms back in and steals Coal’s attention. I'm so grateful to be released from his death grip that I sigh too loudly.
Amber eyes zero in on me, and he heads straight for my desk.
"Fuck off, human," he demands, kicking my bag across the floor.
"No, you fuck off, Matteo. Can't have my Avowed distracted," Coal tells him, gripping my thigh once again.
"You claimed her?" Matteo snaps, his gaze leaving me and focusing on Coal.
"I will," Coal says, and as his anger rises, his grip tightens once again.
His hand is going to leave a mark, and I realize he's probably going to get off on that.
"She's not your Avowed yet, then," Matteo growls and I try to move, but Coal won't release me from his painful hold.
“Stop distracting her, Matteo. She’s not moving. As I said, she’s serving me.” Coal snaps his fingers and another human girl three rows up turns at the noise immediately.
As humans living in a wolf pack, answering to things like a whistle or snapping fingers is second nature. As the Alpha’s son, Coal is never ignored. “Matteo gets violent when he’s forced to wait, human. Move faster.”
Natalie, the only other human girl in this class right now, jumps to her feet, keeping her head down and eyes on the ground.
“How can I be of service?” Natalie asks, never looking at either wolf.
While they’re distracted, I take the opportunity to peer at Matteo through my lashes. His dark skin looks so inviting, that my heart starts racing. Every wolf in the room can hear the sudden change, so I turn my attention back to Natalie, hoping Coal assumes I'm scared for her and doesn’t catch me admiring another wolf.
He might hate me, but he’s possessive, and if he thinks my desires are elsewhere, he’ll torture us all. I learned that lesson the hard way. My heart squeezes at the reminder of my friend. I shake the thought from my head. If I think about him for too long, my heart will break all over again.
Matteo must be from one of the rival packs sent to secure future treaties among all of the surrounding packs. The Alphas assumed that sending their children to the same schools would create a friendship between them. For Coal and Matteo, it seems to be working, since they aren’t killing each other, yet.
The Academy is named after the Primal Moon Pack.
Primal Moon is the largest pack and considered the strongest.
Black Moon is Matteo's pack. I can tell because of the crest tattooed on his wrist.
A few other packs are attending, but only one other pack besides Primal Moon, and Black Moon, is large enough to be a threat: Shadow Moon. The son of the Alpha of the Shadow Moon pack is said to be a ruthless fighter and has been running his pack beside his father for years already. From what I’ve heard, Coal was not friendly with that pack.
“Fuck off,” Matteo snaps, and Natalie retreats to the front of the room.
Coal loosens his grip on my leg, his attention moving to where my leg is already starting to bruise from his punishing grip.
I don’t even flinch when he presses the bruises. I’m used to him and so many others causing me pain. The fact that the pain sends a shiver of pleasure across my skin makes me question my sanity though.
Matteo notices Coal’s hand and starts growling. I’m so surprised that I lift my gaze to his face, our eyes meeting once again, but this time, I don’t look away. His eyes are so familiar. Big mistake.
Coal grips my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes.
“Are you challenging the son of an Alpha?” I expect fury, but instead, I find malicious joy.
“No,” I whisper through clenched teeth. Dropping my eyes to the floor once again.
“I didn’t think so, Flower. Now be a good girl and finish our assignments, Matteo’s too, for forgetting your place.”
I bite my lip, holding in my response. If I give him a reason to, Coal will do something shitty, like spank me in front of every person in this room, and there isn’t anything I can do to stop him. And even though my mind says no, I already know my body will respond, and I’ll be turned on in front of the entire class.
For the rest of the class, I do as I am told. I hope I have at least some freedom from Coal. If I have to spend every class period doing his work, and taking his abuse, I’ll go mad.
I thought turning eighteen would give me slightly more freedom. I could find a nicer family to work for, maybe be a cook or a maid. I wanted to be a nanny. When I was young we spent a lot of time at the Alpha’s home because of my mother. His house is massive, and no one ever noticed me leaving. I would spend most of my time a few houses away. Annie was a kind old wolf who never made me feel like I was trash. She was also a nanny and helped raise a lot of young wolves over the years. Annie had an Avowed servant who she treated well. I had hoped to become her Avowed as well, but she passed a couple of years ago. I still miss her. The only wolf I miss.
The thought of Annie sends flashes of a gray wolf into my mind, but I don’t know who that wolf is. I just know I remember him or her from when I was very young.
I attended a school on a human compound until I was six years old. My mother fled one night for reasons she still won't tell me. The Alpha had stumbled upon her that same night, and immediately requested her presence, and the rest is history.